Thought too much screen time was really bad for you? Well, it can be difficult on the eyes, and make you sore if you don’t have the right ergonomics in place, but playing at online casinos can be better for your health than the alternative. While casino floors may have that certain allure, they can also bring about health issues.
Here are a few reasons why playing at online casinos from the comfort of your own home may be a better bet health-wise.
No second-hand smoke
Depending on your usual gambling environment, when you are playing in person, you may be subjected to cigarette smoke. While smoking indoors and at gambling establishments is banned in many parts of the world, in others it is not. Smoking is an activity that has gone hand in hand with playing the tables (and the slots) for many, many decades. In the movies, you’ll often see patrons having a leisurely puff on a cigarette or indulgent cigar.
However, smoking is bad for your health. And even if you aren’t personally smoking, inhaling that second-hand smoke from the person over from you is still damaging.
Health benefits are an unexpected benefit of gambling online. When you are playing at an online casino, in your own space, you don’t run the risk of being in the smoke path. Even if you are – perhaps if you’re out in the park and someone lights up – you can simply move to another location to avoid the second-hand cigarette smoke.
Less chance of overdrinking
Drinking is another activity that can be detrimental to our health and when you’re at the casino you’re more likely to ‘just have one more’ – particularly if there are wait staff helping you at the table.
While it’s all well and good to have a drink or two while you’re gambling, it’s when those ‘one mores’ become five more that you find yourself in trouble. With your level of inhibition decreasing, it’s easy to end up losing more money than you anticipated. However, not only that, you can find yourself binge drinking, which is also dangerous to your health.
Binge drinking can lead to an increased risk of death, from alcohol poisoning, choking on vomit, or through an accident. More likely harm from binge drinking episodes comes in the form of inflammation of the organs, including the liver, stomach and pancreas. Recurrent episodes of binge drinking will have ongoing detrimental effects on health.
By staying home, you are in a comfortable, familiar space – one that doesn’t lend itself to overdrinking and making mistakes. Stay aware of your intake and enjoy yourself.
Less chance of getting addicted to gambling
Did you know that casinos are designed to make you feel like you are losing track of time? You will have noticed that there is no natural light in casinos, a ploy to ensure you feel you are in a timeless space. Have you been here for an hour, or is it two and a half already? There are other tricks that casinos use, such as interesting carpet design, bright flashing lights, fun sounds, and exciting scents that can keep you at a casino for longer, too. All of these combined are designed to make you stay longer than you would have naturally and keep you gambling.
On the flip side, you are not subjected to as many psychologically manipulative techniques online as you are at land casinos. Online casinos are not in charge of the space around you: they only have agency over what is displayed on your screen. This makes it a lot easier to unplug from that environment, and so the risk of playing at the casino for longer than you anticipated goes down. Over time, this may decrease the risk of falling into addiction.
The verdict
Playing at online casinos presents fewer health risks than the in-person alternative. Casinos are designed to make you overindulge in a number of different ways that can be bad for your physical and mental health.
That is not to say that playing online is without its own risks. Follow these guidelines to ensure you are keeping healthy:
- Get up and stretch for 10 minutes out of every hour of screen time
- Try to use an ergonomically friendly setup: a desktop is far easier on the body than playing on mobile for longer play periods
- Be aware of the amount of time or money you are spending on online casino play, watch for signs of addiction
- Set monetary limits for your play, either in your head or at the online casino itself
This way you’ll be able to play safely and happily online without worrying about detrimental side effects.
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